Monday, August 03, 2015

Baptism, Shelters and Conferences

Dear Friends,

so much activity, so much to tell about what is happening in the Russian Far East.

First, the personal news.  Our youngest, Diana, was baptized last month.  This took place at a missions conference we attended.  Here she is giving her confession of faith before getting immersed by Omar (who is our friend, supervisor, and sometimes pastor).




Our other personal news is that Timothy (our son) was able to come and visit us for a few weeks this summer, and attend the conference.  Unfortunately, he can't stay with us forever, so he's back in the States now to continue his education.  He and his sisters had a great time talking, joking, arguing, teasing, and going for walks.



A young lady, Stacy, was with us for a short time this summer.  Of course, she got into ministry.  We weren't afraid to put her to work.  Here you can see her helping Cecil hang kitchen cabinets at the unwed mother's shelter that we partner with.



She also got to minister with the orphanage work, the homeless shelter, and with teenagers at church.

Here is one of the young moms and her newborn at the unwed mother's shelter.

The shelter, which is staffed by believers from local churches, helps the mothers to develop skills, find jobs, and keep their child.

We took Stacey out to the homeless shelter and put her musical talents to work.  We sure hope she comes back again!




We held a Bible camp in our house that Stacey (and our kids) helped with.  Some youngsters from the neighborhood and from church attended.


Tonya even taught her how to make Russian palmeni (palmini, or however it is spelled in English), along with a couple of neighbor girls.


This summer we also partnered with another ministry and got out to a village and did some children's outreach there.


Youngsters from the village participated in games (such as above, with the parachute), as well as Bible stories.  It's several hours drive from the city, and the kids had never touched a parachute before.  Their parents were grateful for the camp.  We are praying to get a church established here someday.

If you would like to come join in the fun and ministry and work going on in the Russian Far East, be sure to let us know.

In Christ,
the Eshelman clan


Some things only happen in Russia.  

Other strange things in Russia.

Some articles about Russia.

How to spot an American: